Nicola Morgan, the Crabbit Old Bat, is an award-winning author of around 90 books across many genres. For the last few years, she has given crabbitly honest advice to determined writers, here and in her books, WRITE TO BE PUBLISHED, WRITE A GREAT SYNOPSIS, DEAR AGENT and TWEET RIGHT.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

DEAR AGENT - Extract 1

I'm delighted to announce the 10-day countdown to publication of Dear Agent - Write the Letter That Sells Your Book! Dear Agent is my nifty, comprehensive ebook about that tricksy thing: the letter pitching your book and yourself to agent or publisher. Dear Agent will make a matching pair with Write a Great Synopsis - An Expert Guide, and once you've read them both, there will be no excuse for anything less than a splendiferous, stressfree, stylish submission.

Dear Agent will be published on August 10th and will be stupid cheap for that weekend only, so don't delay. I've had terrific feedback already. *dances*

Leading up to that, and up until August 17th, I'm giving you free extracts on this blog, and offering lots of giveaways here, on my Facebook page and on Twitter up till August 10th. Keep your eyes open! In fact, if you read to the end of this post, there's a PICK ME opportunity - two chances (and three more on my FB page) of winning a free copy of Dear Agent. Hurry, before I change my mind.

NB The extracts are all taken before final proof-reading.

First extract:

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Isn’t it the book that counts?Yes. When I talk to aspiring writers how about to get published, I try to emphasise the truth: that it’s your book that will get you the deal, not how sparkly your smile or your covering letter, nor whom you know and how many hands you’ve shaken at conferences. But in the Q&A at the end of every talk, the questions focus invariably on how to submit the book to agents or publishers, far more than on the writing. Writers get terribly worried about and hung up on the tiniest aspects of the submission: should it be double-spaced or single? Times New Roman or Helvetica? Should I send three chapters or two? What if the guidelines say three but my chapters are really long? Or really short? Why can’t I send glitter or confetti or chocolates? Why can’t I show them a photo of my gorgeous legs?

The thing is that tied up in all these questions are two truths. First, the covering letter is like your shop window. A good one will draw people into the shop. Second, a bad covering letter is like a terrible shop window. Inside, there could be wonderful things but no one will even come in if your window is off-putting.

So, the writing is what will decide the deal. The covering letter is what can enable a deal even to be discussed.

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Dear Agent will be available on Amazon on August 10th (and shortly afterwards elsewhere) for the STUPID price of 50p(ish) for THREE DAYS ONLY. Tell the world! Well, writers, anyway... I would love the book to shoot up the charts at the start, as Tweet Right and Write a Great Synopsis did. I need your help, lovely people. Help!

More extracts in the lead up to August 10th. And more giveaways on this blog, my Facebook page and on Twitter over the next few days. No free copies after Aug 10th, though...

So, if you'd like the chance to win a free copy, simply plead with me in a comment below. I do love a bit of pleading... (Deadline for this Pick Me is Aug 9th, and after that you'll need to pay for it.) Same applies to today's giveaway of THREE copies on my Facebook page.

Pick me!!!! I need all the help I can get!!! *twitch twitch* and hopefully number 3 is your lucky number? (yes I'm scrabbling for reasons other then I'm desperate) :) and it's taken me 3 attempts to leave a comment from my phone! See I'm dedicated!

Cat, sorry, I don't remember that question. I don't know - does Amazon accept Paypal? I imagine so. And I imagine the other retailers do, too. Would you be buying the Kindle version or non-Kindle? (Kindle includes ebook bought on Amazon to read on computer eg.)

Ah, Amazon might if they do it through Book Depository I suppose - I think they now own BD. I downloaded the Kindle software on to the computer for WAGS. (You see the lengths I go to read your zany but sane and intelligent words of wisdom?) Thankyou.

I was often called a little pleader when I was younger.... at least I think that's what my parents used to say.....

I so would love a copy of your latest handbook Dear Agent because after reading it and applying your excellent advice I'll know that when I'm rejected in the future at least I'll have the knowledge that it wasn't my covering letter that had let me down....

Hi Nicola, please pick me and I promise to review it on my blog AND message all of SCBWI about it, how's that for a deal???(Will probably do that anyway, after all 50p is remarkably cheap for such genius but hey I never win anything so I thought I'd give it a shot!)

Pick me pick me pick me! I head off on a long holiday at stupid o'clock on 10th August so will miss the 50p window. I'll still buy it anyway when I get back in September but how nice would it be to 'win' it!

Please, please, pleeeeeeaaase pick me - I live in a place where there is a dearth of bookshops and writing guidance (I live and work in Myanmar but am Scottish)and I desperately need your help and expertise. Plus, you launched the competition on my birthday (barrel scraping here)and most of all, because if I don't I will take over the crown of crabbitness with a shovelful of grump thrown in!

Well, the winners don't seem very random because the e first and the last comments are the winners, but I promise that's what random.org came up with, so...Carol Hedges and Feisty Blue Gecko, please email me so i can send your prizes! Congratulations!

Commiserations to the rest of you - *sad face* - but I can now reveal that Dear Agent IS available already on Amazon (UK and .com), a day early, and several people have already bought it. I wonder when someone will review it? Thanks so much for your interest and I hope you enjoy it if you buy it. The currency rate means 77p is the cheapest it can be and remember: that is only for the weekend!

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